APC slams Amaechi over claim he couldn’t afford mother’s drugs

File: Former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi

The All Progressives Congress has mocked the African Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, over his claims that he could not afford medication for his late mother, describing the former Rivers State governor as dependent on public office.

In a statement on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC said Amaechi had been a beneficiary of public office for decades but had become “destitute” just three years after leaving office.

The party also accused Amaechi of seeking the VP ticket in 2027 to continue what it described as his reliance on public treasury, insisting that “the presidency is not a soup kitchen” for the former governor.

The statement read, “The All Progressives Congress prays that the soul of Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi continues to rest in perfect peace. Amen.

“We also pray for excellent health of mind and body for her son, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, a former two-term Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor, two-term Minister of Transportation, former presidential aspirant, and currently the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, who could not afford medications for his mother’s treatment.

“It is our sincere wish that employers of labour in his hometown of Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State may find him suitable for a job that pays wages sufficient for him to feed and buy medications for himself and his beloved family for the rest of his retirement. Amen.

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“Rotimi Amaechi’s uncanny confessions must not be missed. First, he howled that he had become so broke and hungry that his wife was now feeding him. Now, he has stated that his inability to afford medications killed his mother at 89.”

The APC added that Amaechi’s own statements were the clearest indication, in its view, of his unsuitability for the office of vice president.

It continued, “For four decades, Rotimi Amaechi freeloaded at the highest levels of public office. He was never hungry and could afford medications for himself and his family. Just three years out of office, he has become destitute, unable to fend for himself and his loved ones. If Amaechi is not struggling with some kind of Peter Pan syndrome, then he must be a loafer, aimless and irresponsible for his inability to be productive and earn a living outside the patronage of public office.

“The same Rotimi Amaechi now asks Nigerians to make him vice president come 2027 so he can continue… and keep the predatory lifestyle he has grown accustomed to.

“The presidency is not a soup kitchen, and will not be a soup kitchen for Rotimi Amaechi.”

Amaechi, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, blamed President Bola Tinubu’s policies for the hardship in the country, alleging that the situation made it difficult for him to afford medication for his mother, who recently died after a prolonged illness.